View full sizeApollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell was the sixth man to walk on the lunar surface. (The Huntsville Times File Photo)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Reuters news agency reported today that the U.S. government is suing former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell to recover a camera used while exploring the moon's surface during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court on Wednesday, accuses the sixth man to walk on the moon of illegally possessing the camera and attempting to sell it.

NASA learned in March that the British auction house Bonhams was planning to sell the camera at an upcoming Space History Sale, according to the lawsuit.

The item was labeled "Movie Camera from the Lunar Surface" and billed as one of two cameras from the Apollo 14's lunar module Antares.

Bonhams, which estimated the camera would sell for $60,000 to $80,000, has withdrawn the camera from sale until the lawsuit is resolved.

Mitchell was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 14, which launched its nine-day mission in 1971.